Earlier today, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 60 declaring November 16, 2010 as an official national holiday in observance of Eid’l-Adha of the Islam Feast of Sacrifice. While many may still miss the “let’s-move-the-holiday-to-Monday” habit the former administration had implemented, I personally think that observing holidays on it’s actual days is a good thing…after all, that’s why we honor the date right? But of course…I won’t deny I kinda wish the long weekends

While it may not be a long weekend for most, I’m sure a lot were still glad to have a sudden and unexpected reprieve from the long work week…especially nowadays when traffic is so darned bad!

When I first bought my car, my mom jokingly said: I bet in about a week’s time, the backseat will be full of your stuff again. Um…she was right…sort off! It did take about two years for me to be more careless about it, but yes, my backseat kinda resembles a disaster area more often than not. It’s full of manila papers, test papers, Ziplock bags full of crayons and markers, shoe bags/boxes and other stuff that I use for my many jobs and don’t have time to take in and out of the house on a daily basis. Oh…and since Bubba (my lab) loves going on car rides, the seats are usually full of his fur! That’s why as much as I hate the seat covers that came with the car (it’s too plain and I don’t like the material very much) and while I prefer the actual upholstery of the seats, I still keep it on.

Well, today I discovered a slight disaster in my car seats….it seems that I failed to close the bag of crayons well and a few fell into the seat and because I parked outside the house where it was soooooo hot, the crayon kinda melted. Yep…I have melted crayons on my seat covers. Believe me…it’s so hard to remove!!! This is one of those times I wish I had leatherette seat covers instead (even though it’s not as “classy” and cute as other materials!) because it sure will be a lot easier to clean after accidents such as this!

Seriously though, I think this was a reminder to me that my car…it’s not my classroom! Hehe. So today, I got one of those plastic crate things and put all the school supplies in it and tucked it in my trunk instead

In class these past few days, I used the line “back when I….” so many times over I had to literally laugh out loud. Every time I would say it, I would literally chuckle and tell my students that when I hear myself say that, I suddenly feel so very old. And yes, each time I say that, my students get a good laugh out of it!!! In all honesty, sometimes I forget that things have changed so much from “my time”. I still remember that our “big” issues back then were about whether or not to pluck our eyebrows or what acne products would work best for our skin type and whether or not our hair should be teased or straightened or what not. Today, the issues and concerns are so very different that it’s somewhat overwhelming. I have students as young as 16 or 17 coming to me about feelings that I never felt till I was much older! On one hand, it scares me to bits, on the other, I feel like it’s a good thing. What I’ve realized however, that whether it is back in my time or in my student’s time today, one thing still remains true: that no matter how hard we try, there are just so many things we can’t understand. Hehe. At the end of the day what I am reminded of, and what I tell them all the time, is that it doesn’t really matter why or how things happen, but what counts is what we do with these things that happen.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen this side of me…the side that gets soooo overwhelmed and upset with the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can’t not let your behavior get to me. And like last time, I find myself so frustrated with things that happened in class and I thought it best to let you know how I feel about it.

So here it goes: like in my last letter to you, I’d like to remind you that while I may be one of the most lenient and “child”- centered teachers you will ever meet, please don’t forget that I am human too….and that I can only take so much pushing before I tip over and lose the smile I try to keep while we’re together. Please remember that I ask very little of you, especially since I am one of those teachers who firmly believes that it is not the facts and figures that you remember in my class that matters, but that you actually liked what you learned and how you got to learn this in my class. I like letting you have fun because for me, this is what really makes learning more meaningful and life changing. As I often tell you in class, aanhin mo naman lahat ng theories kung hindi mo rin gagamitin, diba? Also, please remember that more than just doing well in my activities and exams, what really counts for me is to see you become better people and this is not measured simply by scores in tests, but by your character, behavior and attitude. I feel at times that no matter how hard I try to help you find it, the lost art of respect, gratitude and proper etiquette is an impossibility…..but I am trying very hard not to believe that, because what kind of a world would we have if that becomes a fact, right?

So yes, today I got my buttons pushed by you guys and yes, I tried hard to remain calm and focused on the bigger picture. What I ask from you now, however, is that you not make it too hard for me to keep on wanting to do what I do in class because believe me, in as much as I looooove it to bits, there are days when I have to think about it.

Oh, do know while today may not have been such a wonderful day for me, do know that I have had so much fun and felt so much joy while teaching you guys. If you could only see my Facebook wall after class, more often than not I sing (well, you know what I mean!) praises of you all the time because many, many times, I take away more than I would have expected from class. The little jokes we exchange, the pseudo-intellectual conversations we carry on, and yes, the heartfelt discussions we have really make my day. And yes…that’s what keeps me going. That’s what makes me stay true to being not just a teacher, but a teacher here in the Philippines despite the fact that my contemporaries have found greener pastures elsewhere.

In the past three weeks, I’ve been attempting to restore some order to my once organized room (um…well, people around me may disagree with that, but I’d like to think that despite my mess, I live in a room full of organized chaos, harhar!) because it simply has become overrun with too much clutter. I decided that before I completely leave the preschool, I might as well give them all the stuff that I have collected over the years that can be of better use there. I found a lot of hidden treasures in my cleaning up, I must say. This included old beads and paints, to scratch papers and even all the press kits and freebies from events as well as other tradeshow giveaways including all those pharma bags, pens and stuff from conventions that I’ve attended. Talk about lots of stuff! I’m trying to figure out, however, how best to dispose of all the CD press kits I have collected over the years. I remember once, we used this as Christmas tree decorations, so maybe we can do something like that again this year hehe. I’m not really done sorting stuff yet, but so far, I’ve got three boxes full of “trash” which hopefully soon will become treasures for the little kids I teach

Note from Teacher

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